We Can't Be Friends Unless You Have a Boyfriend. Yes, I'm Serious... Kind Of.

I've heard single girls say it again and again. You know—some couples are kind of, well, annoying. All of that PDA and the nicknames and doing everything together. Heck, I made those kinds of observations when I was flying solo. But a funny thing happens when you enter into a serious, committed relationship: some of those single friends you used to call your BFF's are replaced by other, coupled up guys and gals. They're still in your life but they play a completely different role (umm, and sometimes their single behavior is kind of annoying). And you know what? That's a totally OK transition. For real.

When you're in a relationship, there are certain things you just can't talk about with your single friends anymore. I mean, you can talk to them, but you don't want to seem like that couple who has nothing else to talk about but your boyfriend or girlfriend. In my life, my relationship and my career are the biggest scene-stealers, especially since J and I are living together. I admit it. Sometimes I feel so [insert lovey-dovey adjective here] with J that I just need to share or vent or maybe even brag a little (sometimes all at once). But I know the single gals get sick of hearing it. Just like hearing about random, crazy hook-up stories gets a little old for me. There's no judgment, I'm just in a different place in my life and want to be able to connect with people who are there, too, and cheering me on. And vice versa. (Not that I won't cheer on your make-out sesh with the hot bartender. Go, girl.)

It's not that my single friends are unsupportive, but I do have some who discourage me from moving too fast with J because I'm "so young" and "have so much time to settle down." But then I talk to my coupled up friends who are in the same boat as me and they just get it. I'm nearly twenty-five, J is twenty-nine, we have been together for 2 and a half years, living together for eight months, and are just oozing with happiness (OOZING!). We're looking forward to taking grown-up steps (that's not to say we don't still have not-so-grown-up moments). And you know what? I was never into the hooking up thing. I have always wanted a serious career and a serious love. So I know that I sound corny when I talk about my guy, but it just feels like things are finally working out. And it's nice to talk to my coupled up girlfriends who don't get annoyed hearing about boyfriend stuff.

It's like the next stage of friend transitioning after high school, college and moving away from home. People are in your life at a certain time for a specific reason. Maybe it's OK that that reason changes over time. Best friends from five or ten years ago may just be acquaintances now (or maybe you're going through the same timeline checkpoints together). At the end of the day you're the only one who can know what's right for you, what truly makes you happy, and your real friends will be there for you to listen to it all.

But, in the meantime, I'm here to listen! Do you ever feel a difference in the way you can talk to your single friends and your friends in relationships? If you have a BF, do you feel guilty talking too much about your guy with your single friends? How do you deal?